2011: The Year of Scandals and Retractions

I read the news online daily and follow several science news organizations on Twitter. I’ve really enjoyed Nature News & Comments’ focus on retractions this year. I’ve learned a lot about the causes for retractions and the frequency of such events. An article with some really informative graphics is available here: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111005/full/478026a.html

I read the news online daily and follow several science news organizations on Twitter. I’ve really enjoyed Nature News & Comments’ focus on retractions this year. I’ve learned a lot about the causes for retractions and the frequency of such events. An article with some really informative graphics is available here: http://www.nature.com/news/2011/111005/full/478026a.html

The topic that seems to be drawing the most attention for retractions is the alleged link between xenotropic murine leukemia virus (XMRV) and chronic fatigue syndrome. The retracted paper in Science (326:585-589) was authored by Judy Mikovits. As the investigation into this paper has stirred up a great deal of controversy, Mikovits has been accused of misrepresenting data and is in a legal battle with her former employer. It’s tragic to see people’s careers coming to an end, particularly colleagues who might have been unaware of the mistakes or misconduct.

As bad a misconduct investigation is, several other scientists have faced criminal charges in 2011. At UCLA in December 2008, Sheharbano Sangji died from burns after working with t-butyl lithium. Patrick Harran was recently charged with “willful violation of an occupational health and safety standard causing the death of an employee.” This unfortunate incident caused Scripps Florida to change some of its practices to prevent a similar accident. The most obvious change is that the chemists now wear a blue lab coat, which is fire-resistant. Luk Van Parijs pleaded guilty to charges of grant fraud stemming from falsifying data, resulting in a sentence of house arrest, restitution, and community service.

As a scientist in training, I try my very, very best to be thorough when preparing a manuscript. I review all of my data with my advisor and together we select the examples to use in the manuscript. I never want to be accused of scientific misconduct or blacken my advisor’s reputation. After taking an ethics course and following the news about retractions, I have discussed inappropriate behavior with my advisor. We’ve discussed various examples, ranging from something as simple as putting two gel images next to each other without a clear division to something as complex as entire papers being questioned for data that cannot be reproduced. I’ve enjoyed using these examples from the news as a way to understand what is not appropriate behavior and what consequences exist for scientific misconduct.